


Once Upon a Dream

by The_Winter_Straw



Series: Free Fic Raffle Prizes [8]
Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Mild Language, Prophetic Dreams, Timeline What Timeline, post-memory wipe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25983028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Straw/pseuds/The_Winter_Straw
Summary: It's a long road to walk, but Maki Yoshiwara intends to see it through to end.
Relationships: Sohma Kyou/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Free Fic Raffle Prizes [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687426
Kudos: 1





	Once Upon a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Not many notes here. Just tried to write the story I was asked to write. Maki's two school friends are just random characters I made up for the purpose of conversation.
> 
> Many thanks to the winner for being so patient with me while waiting for my wrist to heal up from a stenography injury so I could use a keyboard again!
> 
>  **Winner July 2020:** vee/saucegei on Quotev.

_Maki Yoshiwara knew the streets of her prefecture like the back of her hand. She knew the people that lived along her work routes: their habits, their schedules, their orders. A few of her more frequent customers also knew hers. Several of them should have been outside to see the brown-eyed brunette bike past them on her way to another assignment. As the workday drew to a close, usually at least a handful of people waved at her as they headed inside for the evening. No one did that day. Now that she thought about it, not a single person had appeared along her journey—no people, no cars, not even a single bird. The city was empty._

_Her bike pedals squeaked beneath her feet with every move she made to get herself up a particularly steep hill. The noise cut through the suffocating silence like a knife. Above her head swirled great black-green clouds. Leaves, twigs, and garbage battered Maki's face. Wind threatened to loose her ponytail from her head. Soon the gale grew so violent that she had no choice but to abandon her bike entirely. She pulled it to a vacant curb, snatched up the boxes held in the back compartment, and a made a run for cover._

_...Cover that she realized she could not find. Pulling to a stop with the boxes still held as carefully as she could manage, she found herself on an unfamiliar corner with nothing but flashing streetlights for company._

_"Hello?" she called up at the inscrutable windows lined up and down and across the apartments nearby. "Hello! Did anybody order a pizza?"_

_No one replied._

_Maki shuddered just as enormous drops of water, hard enough to sting, began to pelt the top of her head and her exposed skin. No longer caring how pretty the food was when it arrived at its destination—if it was ever to arrive at its destination—she sprinted for the doors of a squat building set just beyond a browning ornamental garden. She did not know where either had come from; certainly a residential area had been there only moments ago. Never before had she seen such a place on any delivery she had taken._

_Or had she? Once she yanked the paper doors shut behind her, Maki turned to find a dojo plunged into darkness. It, too, was deserted at a time when children should have been hard at work practicing. The storm outside rattled the walls. She squeaked as she edged away from them, only to trip on the uniform that pooled around her suddenly tiny feet._

_"Help!" Maki cried, struggling to get to her feet with small, clumsy hands that seemed unable to obey her._

_A flash of movement caught her tear-filled eyes. She looked up to see_ something _in the middle of the room: Some huge, dark shape that would loom above her if it drew at all nearer. The instructor? Maki could only hope._

_"Hello? Can you help me?" she asked._

_The shape didn't move. Maki opened her mouth to ask again, but then the doors blasted open. A mighty gust struck her and sent her flying straight at the black mountain. She screamed._ This _caught the attention of whatever it was. Two yellow eyes with slit pupils gleamed in her direction. A pair of massive clawed hands lifted into the air..._

Sixteen-year-old Maki was, in fact, perfectly fine as she sat at her desk at Kaibara Municipal High School. The bright June sunlight that washed across her left her feeling groggy and warm, but nothing worse than that. Her teacher continued on in the same vein she had been when Maki decided to mull over her dream: Test scores were important and those of the class requiring summer instruction or a second chance at exams ought to spend the upcoming holiday in serious thought. It was nothing for Maki to worry about; she had passed all her exams with only a few names above hers in scores. Besides, her dream was far more interesting than any guilt trip could hope to be. 

She had experienced the whole thing again the night before. This was no surprise. At least once a week since Maki was very young, she had the almost the exact same dream—or had, up until the year before. Now she found subtle changes nearly every time she slept. No longer was the monster that attacked her some indistinguishable, writhing mass of shadows. Instead it was tall, humanoid, even, and she felt that when it lifted its arms, it wanted to catch her rather than cut her to ribbons. 

As Maki pondered this shift, her eyes fell on the back of one of her classmates. It seemed that the redhead was suffering even worse from the sweltering heat outside than she was. His head dipped lower and lower toward the arms crossed on top of his desk with every second that ticked off on the clock hanging at the front of the room. 

_You,_ Maki thought, not for the first time. _It has to be_ you. 

"Well, now I've said my piece. The rest of it is up to you. Class dismissed," the teacher said. 

Just like that, the classroom filled with all the artifacts of summer. Inner tubes, volleyballs, bug nets, and all the like seemed to pop into existence with those last two magic words. Students clamored for their friends; desks were shoved against the walls; and everyone seemed eager to either flee the school or make plans for the afternoon before many of their fellows could get away. 

A much more sedate Maki gathered her things and attempted to push her way out of the room, but she didn't make it to the door before she heard her name called from somewhere behind her. She paused to allow her two friends to catch up. 

"Didn't think you were going to escape us that easily, did you?" Umeko Watanbe asked, hands on her hips. 

"We saw you, you know," Natsu Ito added. 

Maki did her best to look bemused, but she knew what was coming. She didn't get the chance to spend much time with her school friends outside of class—and yet they still seemed to delight in teasing her whenever they got any sliver of an opportunity to do so. 

" _You_ were staring at Kyo Sohma again," Natsu went on. 

"I'm amazed you haven't burned a hole through the back of his head." Umeko snorted. "Maybe you should try. His brain could probably use the oxygen." 

"He's not dumb. And I don't stare at him _that_ much," Maki protested weakly. 

The two girls laughed. 

"I don't! I had that dream again last night, you know? That's all." 

"Oh, we're back to _that_ excuse, are we?" asked Umeko. 

Natsu nodded seriously. "He's a Sohma. There's no shame in admitting you like him. Something like 87% of the girls here like him, too, and about 6% of the boys. I ran the numbers." 

"I bet you did. That's our Natsu!" 

"It's not that! I just _know_ he has something to do with how my dream changed," Maki said as Umeko attempted to wrestle Natsu into a headlock. 

"Is this like the time in middle school when you _knew_ you were the reincarnation of an evil sorceress?" Umeko asked, reaching to pull Maki into their scuffle. 

Maki took a small step away, sighing as she did. Once anyone brought up the sorceress thing, she knew that her current argument was a lost cause. "I just wish he would talk to me. That's all." 

"Well, good luck with that," Natsu said. "Kyo doesn't _talk_ to anybody. Unless you're Tohru, he just yells." 

“Trust me, I know,” Maki muttered. 

Her friends exchanged knowing looks before finally parting. 

“You know what you need? I mean, _really_ need?” Umeko said. 

“A life? A real boyfriend? A better apartment?” 

“All three,” said Natsu, “but we were thinking we could start the summer off with a bang together. My parents are good for a slumber party tonight if you are.” 

“ _And_ we promise not to bring up Kyo _too_ much if you don’t want to hear about it,” Umeko put in. 

Maki offered them each an apologetic smile. "I can't tonight." 

"What? Come on, Maki. You need a break. We all know you haven't had a moment's rest since we got our exam schedules!" 

"That's exactly why I can't take a break now. I just don't have the time. Tomoya covered all my shifts so I could study, and I promised him I'd take on all his this week to make up for it." 

"Have I ever told you that you work too much?" Umeko asked, looking pained. 

"Almost every day," said Natsu. "Want to hear the numbers on that?" 

"Not particularly." 

"Sorry guys. Maybe later this holiday I can swing it," Maki offered. 

"Statistically, probably not," Natsu said. 

Umeko made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Go on, then. Before you're late, Miss Workaholic." 

Maki made her way with some relief toward the door to the hallway. She turned her head just as she reached it to call out, "Enjoy your summer!" but she doubted either of her friends heard. One of the boys in class was speaking to a crowd about bowling, and Umeko and Natsu had already joined the growing throng. 

The spaces outside her classroom were just as congested. Maki moved as quickly as she could, but there was just no getting through some of the clots of students hanging around. Once she finally squeezed her way past a squealing cluster of Yuki Fan Club members, she felt fresh air on her face at last—and realized with a jolt that the same group of giggling girls seemed to have kept Kyo Sohma and his stalwart companion from getting out of the building as well. 

"Ah, Miss Yoshiwara!" 

Tohru Honda had caught Maki in the act of openly ogling Kyo. Cheeks burning, Maki felt she could not pretend as though she hadn't heard the summons—though Kyo's careful avoiding of her gaze as she walked over to them indicated _he_ would have preferred if Maki kept on her way himself. Well, she was already there, she figured. Might as well take advantage of the situation. 

"Hi, Tohru. Ready for summer break?" she asked. 

"Yes!" she chirped. "Although I'll just be working. I suppose you have something exciting planned?" 

"Not at all. I'm going to pick up as many extra shifts as I can. Exams really put a dent in my savings." 

"I know what you mean! It's so hard to balance work and school, isn't it?" 

"You're telling m—" 

"Yo, Tohru!" 

Uotani's unmistakable voice smashed through their conversation like the speckled pipe she occasionally brought to school. Tohru, Maki, and Kyo all looked over to see her and Tohru's other friend, Hanajima, standing at the opposite end of the hallway. The first girl jerked her head in the direction of the nearby door. 

"We need to leave now if we wanna beat the lines," she shouted. 

Tohru did not hesitate to obey. "C-Coming!" she cried as she lurched forward. Then she stopped, turned clumsily on her heel, and bowed her head once each to both Maki and Kyo. To the latter she said, "Please tell Shigure dinner is in the freezer. And—and that I should be back before nine!" 

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," said Kyo. 

"Goodbye, Miss Yoshiwara. I hope you have a wonderful summer!" 

She was gone in the blink of an eye. Maki didn't even get a chance to wish her the same before all three girls vanished from the halll entirely. Before Maki had any chance to recover, she heard something rustle beside her: Kyo making a hasty retreat toward the school gate. Tohru had given Maki the opportunity of a lifetime. Not once had she ever managed to get Kyo alone, but if she didn't hurry, he was going to disappear, too. 

"W-Wait!" Maki said as she tore after him. 

Kyo didn't stop. Then again, neither did she. He might have been remarkably fast—second only to Yuki in the school—but she was determined. Maki caught up to him before the end of the block; her appearance at his elbow finally forced him to look directly at her. The obvious anger in his unusual orange eyes nearly made her flinch. 

"Don't you have _work_ to get to?" he demanded. 

Maki swallowed but kept up eye contact as she answered, "It's in the same direction." 

"Oh." 

She could not believe her luck. After so many months of staring at him in class, Maki finally had a chance to talk to Kyo by herself. No Tohru to stand a buffer between them; no Uotani to get him riled up; no Umeko to mortify her into silence. Any subject might be available for discussion... 

...and now, after all those months, Maki could think of no way to broach the subject she so desperately wanted to talk to him about. 

"Do _you_ have any plans for the holiday, Kyo?" she asked, more to break the icy quiet than anything else. 

His reply was a short, abrupt, "No." 

"I see. Um...Do you spend much time with Tohru outside of school?" 

"That's none of your business." 

"All right. Er..." 

Kyo stopped so suddenly that Maki went several paces ahead of him before noticing he was no longer beside her. She looked wildly around, expecting that he had raced off in the opposite direction, but she soon found him just a few squares of sidewalk away. 

"Look," he said, scowling. "Whatever you're doing, I'm sick of it. Trying to get in good with Tohru—just get it over with, all right? I don't want you following me around and watching my every move anymore. So spit it out: What do you want with me?" 

A less determined girl might have clammed up and hurried on her way after Kyo Sohma used that tone of voice of her. Maki was _not_ a less determined girl. Something about him snapping at her like that gave her the last little push she needed to try something drastic. Instead of running off, she planted her feet firmly on the sidewalk, looked him right in the eye, and said: 

“I want you to go out with me.” 

Whatever Kyo had expected to come from all her watching, it wasn't that. He puffed up like an angry cat, shoulders hunched, teeth bared. " _What_?" 

Maki was a little surprised herself. If her friends had not planted the idea, she probably never would have blurted out something like that. Once said, however, it didn't sound like a _bad_ plan. She plunged on: 

"Yeah. I want us to go out together. Preferably somewhere we can hear each other talk. I've got a lot of questions for you." 

"Are you _crazy_?" 

"That depends on who you ask." Her attempt at a joke had no effect whatsoever on Kyo's posture. Cocking her head to one side, she said, "You _do_ know what a date is, right?" 

"Of course I know what a date is! I just—Why the _hell_ are you asking _me_ out on a date?" 

"Is this the first time anyone has? You seem flustered." 

"Because I thought I made it clear that I'm not interested in dating!" 

"Me specifically? Or the other girls who have asked?" 

"Either. Both. It's not like I've been encouraging you since you started following me around at school!" 

"Oh." Maki couldn't entirely hide the note of disappointment in her voice as they started walking again. So he _had_ noticed. Kyo wasn't oblivious to how interesting she found him; he actively _disliked_ that she did. 

Her slow deflation seemed to calm him a little. He relaxed his shoulders and allowed his frown to fade—until she had to go and say: 

"May I ask _why_ you have no interest in going out with anyone?" 

He bristled up again at once. "No!" 

"I'm just curious. Is it because you're seeing Tohru romantically?" 

"No, I am not seeing Tohru romantically! Even if I was, it's none of your damn business. What the _hell_ is the matter with you?" 

"That's what I'd like to find out." 

"Huh?" 

Maki adjusted the strap on her bag to buy herself a few seconds of time to think. Why _shouldn't_ she tell him the truth? It was obvious he wasn't going to give her another chance to do so, and she _had_ to know. 

"Ever since I was a little girl, I've had this dream," she began. "Well, it used to be a nightmare. They all start differently, but every single one ends in the same place: an empty dojo with this huge—shadow or something in the middle of it. A while back, the shadow was a monster that attacked me. Now it's...different. I think it's reaching out to me. I think it _needs_ me." 

Oddly, Kyo did not react to her recitation. His eyes remained glued to the pavement. He didn't say a word. He didn't even blink. Maki would have known if he had; she kept her own gaze riveted to the side of his face. It was only because she had walked this same path a hundred times before that she knew only one intersection sat between them and the pizza place. 

"So?" he asked when they were nearly upon the building. 

She jumped at the chance to explain. "So I think the change is because of _you_! I started to _connect_ with the shadow after you came to Kaibara. If you would just _talk_ to me for a few minutes, maybe I could figure out what I'm supposed to do next in my dream." 

"That is," Kyo looked down at her, "the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard. And I live Yuki! And Shigure!" 

Maki swallowed. 

"You think that's _me_ in your dreams?" he demanded. 

"I never said that." 

"Good! 'Cause it's not! Whatever is going on in that screwed up head of yours has _nothing_ to do with me, all right?" 

Her heart lurched inside her chest. Just why that was, she could not say. Umeko, Natsu, and even Maki's little sister, Kasumi, had all teased her relentlessly about her conviction that Kyo had something to do with her recurring nightmare. She could endure being laughed at by _them_. Maybe she _had_ been a little overeager to share with him; maybe she should have waited until she _could_ get him to go somewhere with her. But did he really have to ridicule her like that? He didn't know what it was like. _He_ didn't see the pain in her shadow's eyes every week for years on end. What was worse was that he didn't _care_ about it, or about Maki as a person. 

"H-Hey." His voice broke into her thoughts. "Quit looking at me like that!" 

"Like what?" Maki asked dully. 

"Like...like...I don't know! But it's not my fault I can't help you. Why don't you try a therapist or something?" 

She gave her head a slow shake, trying to pull herself together in the face of Kyo's obvious discomposure at her behavior. "It's not a therapy issue. Anyway, it's not _just_ my dream. I really thought we might have fun together. I like you, Kyo." 

His eyes went wide for a split second. Then he looked away again. "That really _is_ going too far," he muttered. 

"I thought I wasn't the first girl to ask you out." 

"Who said you were?" 

"Never mind," Maki said. What more was there to say to a guy that made no secret of how much he disliked her attention? "Have a nice summer, Kyo. I won't bother you anymore." 

Before she could dig herself a deeper hole, Maki gave him the same quick bow that Tohru had, and headed for her place of work. Her fingers had hardly wrapped around the handle on the door when she heard Kyo behind her again: 

"One date." 

She couldn't believe her ears. Could she really be as crazy as Kyo thought? If she was hearing him when he wasn't there, she had to be. Turning around, however, revealed him to be standing only a few feet away, solid, but with his gaze still averted pointedly from her face. 

"What was that?" Maki asked. 

"One date. And we aren't going to talk about your idiotic dreams." 

“Really?” 

“ _Only_ one, you hear? Just so you’ll figure out I’m not some magic key to the inside of your head.” 

"Okay!" 

He did not seem to have thought she would acquiesce so easily. His eyes darted up to her wide smile and away again. Kyo was moody; that was something Maki knew from her observations. She quickly dug through her bag for a pencil and her sketchpad, found an empty corner in the latter, and scribbled out her phone number. No way was he ducking out of this if she could help it. 

His resolve to not look her was in full effect as she bounded up to him. Only her saying, "It's a deal," seemed to break whatever spell the ground had on him. 

"I—" 

"No take backs," she said, thrusting the paper scrap at him. " _Unless_ you have a good enough time that you decide to ask me out on a _second_ date." 

"Don't hold your breath," Kyo grumbled, but he took her number and shoved it into his pants' pocket. 

"See you later?" 

"Yeah, yeah. Later. You're worse than Kagura..." 

This was, apparently, his farewell. As Maki watched, he walked back to the street corner they had just passed and up the way they'd come from. Had he missed his turn to keep talking to her? Surely not. She didn't get any time to consider the possibility. No sooner had it occurred to her than did the phone in her bag let out a loud beep. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late to work even if she _was_ standing directly in front of it. 

A few of Maki's coworkers murmured to one another as she ran to change into her work uniform. Whether that was because she never left clocking in to the last minute or because of the enormous grin on her face, she didn't know. Her thoughts were already on her evening plans. Thankfully, her shift would run so late that she would have nothing to do when she got home but sleep. She couldn't _wait_. One step closer to Kyo surely meant one step closer to the next motion of her dream, and there was the promise of even more steps to come in the near future.


End file.
